This invention relates generally to automated manufacturing systems and specifically to such systems used in the electronics industry for electrically and mechanically attaching components in proper position on printed circuit boards.
It has long been known to use automatic positioning equipment for installation of simple electrical components, such as resistors and capacitors, in predrilled holes in appropriate locations on printed circuit boards. In such systems a conveyer carries the board to sequentially arranged work stations where there were one or more numerically controlled insertion machine heads for appropriately attaching one or more components to the board. The components were often packaged in circular magazines for sequential feeding to the insertion heads, which generally included means for cutting and forming the component leads prior to insertion in the predrilled holes. The prior art did not have an economical way of automatically inserting components that did not have a simple arrangement of leads.
In the rapidly growing field of robotics, the principles incorporated in the early automatic insertion equipment have been extended to more diverse and complicated tasks. Yet, there still exists a need in the art for a simple, reliable component delivery system for properly orienting components at a work station for subsequent pick-up and placement by automated equipment into appropriate locations on electronic printed circuit boards.